Car-fender



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

G. M. PRATT.

GAR FENDER.

N0 555,400. Patented Feb. 25, 1896..

(No Model.) 2' Sheets-Sheet 2. (J. M. PRATT.

GAR FENDER.

No. 555,400. Patented Feb. 25, 1896.

NlTED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES MANVILLE PRATT, OF TO\VANDA, PENNSYLVANIA.

CAR-FENDER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 555,400, dated February25, 1896.

Application filed September 3, 1895. Serial No. 561,313. (No model.)

To CLZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, CHARLES MANvILLE PRATT, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at T owanda, in the county of Bradford and State ofPennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inCar-Fenders; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, andexact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilledin the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of referencemarked thereon, which form apart of this specification.

My invention relates to an improvement in car-fenders; and it has forits object to provide a practical fender, capable of yielding uponstriking a body and composed of great elasticity and adaptedparticularly to prevent the loss of life or serious injury to personscaught in front of moving cars.

A further object of the invention is to so shape and construct thefender in front of a car that it will act as a pilot in striking andcasting aside objects obstructing the track or path of the cars.

A further object of the invention is to provide durable safety-guardsalong the sides of the cars to prevent people from falling or slippingin front of or under the wheels.

The invention consists in the novel construction and arrangement andcombination of parts hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings similar letters of reference indicatecorresponding parts in all the views.

Figure l is a side elevation of a car with my fender and safety-guardattached. Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view of the same, showing theair-cylinders and the manner of attaching the several parts of a fenderto the bottom of a car. Fig. 3 is a vertical longitudinal section of oneof the air-cylinders, showing it and the connecting-rods secured to thebottom of a car. Fig. i is a vertical cross-section of aportion of acar-bottom, showing my raising and lowering device. Fig. 5 is a verticalsection of a dashboard of a car with my cushion attached and showing aportion of the car bottom and end of one of the strips attached to sameby a spiral spring, and Fig. 6 a detail in cross-section of a tubeconstituting part of the framework and provided with an inner pneumatictube and an elastic substance.

A represents a street-car of ordinary con struction. In carrying out theinvention the fender C may be extended as far as desired in thedirection of the center of the car A, and the bottom of its frameworkcarrying the tube is given practically a semicircular shape in front,with its sides parallel with the sides of the car, and extendingbackward to meet or nearly meet tube L on the bottom of the sidesafeguard L The bottom framework of the fender is composed of the woodenrim G with its semicircular part lined with a metal bar D, which barleaves the wooden rim at about the be ginning of the circle, each sidecurving inwardly to points inside of the line of the carwheels andthence rearwardly in a straight line under the carbottom and ending nearthe car-axle.

The semicircular part of the metal bar D is sunken within a groove inthe corresponding part of the wooden rim Secured to the inner side ofthe rim C are several rods 6, radiating from a metal half-circle centerpiece E, like the spokes of a wheel. The outer part of the rim 0 isconcaved its whole length. Firmly secured within this concavity throughout its whole length is a tube C The tube C may be made of any suitablematerial, as rubber, leather, or canvas, (preferably of leather,) and islightly stufied with curled hair or equivalent material, as shown at Zin Fig. 2, and in addition may be inflated with air, forming a pneumatictube, and is provided with a separate inner pneumatic tube, C The outertube being thus constructed and filled will not collapse if punctured.

The network C extends from rim 0 along its whole length upwardly on thesides to the platform of the car A and in front to the dashboard O at apredetermined distance from the top thereof. The network 0 isconstructed preferably of strips of rawhide leather, but may be made ofother suitable material. If constructed of rawhide leather, as shown inFigs. 1 and 2, one end of each strip 0 should be firmly secured to therim C and the other end of the same, or that portion of the net in frontof the dashboard C should extend upward and backward to the dashboard,connecting with one end of a spiral spring, one spring for each strip,the other end of each spring being firmly secured to the dashboard, orpreferably to the plat form of the car, as shown in Fig. 5, each strippassing through an aperture in the dashboard and connecting with thespring 0 inside thereof, or the spiral springs may be placed outside ofthe dashboard and the several strips 0' passed over a rod secured to thefront of the dashboard below the cushion O, and thence downward to thespiral springs, the object being to give great elasticity to the frontpart of the net, liable to come in sudden contact with a person.

Along the sides of the fender the upper end of the strips may beattached to the platform of the car in any convenient manner, as not sogreat elasticity is required in that part of the network. Strips of thesame material are interwoven transversely across the upright strips 0and secured at each end, forming a complete network. A cushion C issecured to the dashboard C above the network to receive the shock andprevent injury to a person thrown suddenly against it. This cushion C ismade of canvas or other suitable material and stuffed with curled hairor other elastic substance, or may be inflated with air.

The safety-guards L are attached to each side of a car-bottom outside ofthe wheels B. They are made as a curtain, of suitable material, ascanvas or leather, (preferably of leather,) and extend the whole lengthof a car, and downward from the car-bottom to a line sufficiently nearthe track or road-bed to prevent a person from slipping under the wheelsB of a car.

The lower edge of each guard L is provided witha tube L, like thatdescribed as C around the front and sides of the fender C, and securedto a concave back extending along the bottom of the guards,from whichbacks curved spring-braces extend to thebody or frame of the car-trucks,which serve to hold the guards in position while they allow them toreadily yield to pressure.

To more effectually absorb the shock and prevent injury to a personstruck by the front of the fender, as well as to cause the net toslacken at the moment a person is landed upon it, I provideair-cylinders F, which are firmly secured to the bottom of the car A inany suitable manner, as shown at f. One is placed on each side of thecar-bottom inside the line of the wheels and in direct line of the rearends of the barD of the fender-frame. Each cylinder is provided with apiston f 'and a piston-rod G, to which the rear ends of the rod D,carrying the fender-frame, are connected at predetermined points gbetween the cylinders and the outer end of the rod.

The piston end of the rods G being within the cylinders, their oppositeends are loosely mounted in bearings H, in which they are adapted toplay back and forth, and which bearings are firmly secured to the bottomof the car.

The bars D pass through the raising and lowering device, Fig. &, andunder the bearings H, inclining upward, and at their rear ends arejointed with the piston-rods G between the heads of the cylinders F andthe bearings H. The cylinders F being hollow with solid ends, except theopenings through which the piston-rods play, form tight airchambers.

To raise or lower the fender to any desired distance above thecar-tracks, I provide the device shown in Fig. at.

Rigidly secured to the bottom of the front part of the car-platform Aare two U shaped loop-supports K,with transverse vertical slots throughtheir sides, as shown in Fig. Between the sides of these supports K thestraight part of the bars D pass, and the two supports are connected bya yoke I, bifurcated at each end, having its forks, one prong above theother, within the slots. The bars D of the fenderframe pass betweenthese forks i. To the middle of yoke I is rigidly se cured a verticallifting-rod J, which extends through the car-platform A to a convenientdistance above the fioor thereof, and is screwthreaded on its upper end,which end is provided with an internallyscrewthreaded hand-wheel J.

A support J 2 is rigidly secured to the floor of the platform A andextends upward to brace the rod J and supports its hand-wheel J. On theunder side of this wheel and integral with it is a sleeve which isinternally screw threaded and extends downward through a close-fittingaperture in the upper part of the brace-supports, where the sleeve issurrounded by a collar J The sleeve of the hand-wheel J screws aroundthe top of the rod J.

In operation the fender is raised or lowered and set at a desireddistance above the cartracks by turning the hand-wheel J which lifts orlets fall the yoke I, carrying within its forks 2' the bars D of thefender-frame. The rear ends of the bars D being hinged at g to thepiston-rods G are by the action of the lifting-rod J tilted up or down,sliding within the U -shaped supports K and their crossslots t", andcarrying the fender-frame.

In practice it is best that the fender be held rigidly as near theroad-bed as practicable to prevent the possibility of it passing over aperson caught in front of it.

A person struck by the fender herein described is relieved from a suddenshock by the action of the air-cylinders F and the clastieity of thetube C and easily landed on the net, the tension of which is at thatmoment slackened by the backward motion of the fender-frame, and theshock of landing is eased by the action of the spiral springs 0 It isplain that one air-cylinder might be substituted for the two described,but two are preferable.

A feature of this fender is that it presents in front no metal or hardsubstance against which a person struck by it can be thrown, and thusserious injury is avoided.

Having thus described my fender, what I claim, and desire to secure byLetters Patent, is

1. A car-fender having the lower outer portion of its frameworksurrounded with an elastic tube, st ufied with curled hair or equiva'lent material, and the tube provided with an inn er pneumatic tubesubstantially as described and for the purpose specified.

2. In combination with a carfender the within-described raising andlowering device consisting of U-shaped loop-supports pendin g from thebottom of a car, and having transverse vertical slots through theirsides, and a yoke with each end bifurcated, connecting the supports, theforks of the yoke being within the slots, one prong above the other, anda vertical lifting-rod attached to the center of the yoke, the top ofthe rod screwthreaded, and engaging with an internallyscrewthreaded hand-wheel resting on a standard extending upward from the car-platform, thepending supports being adapted for the bars, carrying a fender-frame, topass longitudinally between their sides, and between the forks of theyoke, and rise and fall within the same, substantially as described andshown.

3. In combination with a car-fender, the jointed longitudinal bars,connecting with and forming a part of the fender-frame, the yokeconnecting the bars, the slotted supports in which the yoke and barsmove, and the lifting vertical screw-rod secured to the yoke, andprovided with a hand-wheel at its upper end, substantially as describedand shown.

4. In combination with a car-fender the jointed longitudinal bars,connecting the frame of the fender with air-cylinders, the yokeconnecting transversely the bars, the slotted supports in which the yokeand bars move, and the lifting vertical screw-rod secured to the yokeand engaging with an internally-screw-threaded hand-wheel at its upperend,substantially as described and shown.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

O. MANVILLE PRATT.

Witnesses:

J. P. VAN FLEET, E. B. PIERCE.

